Love Like Winter
by Nanaki BH
Summary: [RenoxRufus] Sometimes the simplest gifts are the ones that mean the most.


Disclaimer: _Final Fantasy VII_ and all associated materials are property of Squaresoft. The song _Love Like Winter_ belongs to A.F.I.

Love Like Winter  
By: Nanaki BH

Day gave way to evening and evening had just given way to the hours of twilight; the sky a rosy blend of pink and golden light. Reno wasn't typically the type who appreciated such things though. The simple things in life seemed to escape him most of the time. The only beauty he'd ever found was sitting in a wheelchair, crippled by a painful, unknown disease. As far as Reno knew, there was no such thing as beauty anymore. Beauty came and left. It was fickle, like a woman's emotions.

That was reason enough for him to leave; to find a way to clear his cluttered mind. He'd descended the stairs slowly, fingertips absently brushing along the railing on his way down, a long, soulful sigh passing his lips. His eyes felt heavy, his heart burdened. Beauty was like power; strong yet fleeting. Shinra, he felt, had always been slipping slowly through the cracks. All at once, it seemed, the weak floor beneath them gave out, they fell through, and they hit the bottom hard. Beauty, power came crashing down all at once and vanished in an instant.

Now all that was left of them was a disbanded nothing. He didn't want to wait any longer. No matter how long it had been since they were at the top, he wanted so badly to climb back up there and reclaim his position and his previous way of life. He was so far down though, what were the chances of ever returning?

He jumped down the last few stairs, landing in the dirt road, dust clouds collecting around his shoes. _Thrilling_, he thought, shaking some of the dirt and rocks off of his shoes. They weren't exactly clean to start with though and he wasn't a very clean person to start with either. That thought made a small smile quirk up the corners of his mouth. In some kind of odd way, he was always proud of that fact; that he was so untamed and imperfect.

It didn't leave much to be expected.

It was a weight off of his shoulders. It was one of the few things that allowed him to live his life normally, despite the bizarre job he'd taken on. If he was just another unfeeling bastard, coupled with being a Turk, he would have seemed just as strange as the rest of them. His calm, flippant attitude was what kept him the same as anybody else.

He crossed his arms over his chest, looking back up at the building for a few seconds, just long enough to assure himself that Rufus would be alright by himself behind those walls. A small, curt nod later and he was off and away, walking along the path that led away from the lodge. He didn't have long before it became completely dark, so he didn't plan on staying out for too long; not that he would have anyway.

The path before him was a long one though; dusty and worn as though it had been traveled by many before him. In a way, it was a reassuring thing, the way the path led on. It was long and led to nowhere in particular; nowhere the eye could see at least. Ahead of him, it led into an unknown future and although sometimes knowing what to expect was comforting, the path was like a breath of fresh air. Though speaking of fresh air, it was certainly nice to be outside. The heat and smell of the lodge combined had become almost too much for him to take altogether.

Reno had tried many things previously to take his mind off of his stay in the lodge. He tried TV, calling up Rude, even _reading._ He was beginning to frighten himself. Staying in that lodge alongside Rufus was turning him into a different person entirely. It was forcing him to do things he would never do otherwise – not that it was a bad thing. Once again, Reno wasn't one for change.

He looked up into the sky right as a flock of geese took off toward the setting sun. He was tempted to laugh, feeling somewhat happy to be seeing normal birds in the sky instead of the Shinra manufactured beasts that roamed everywhere else. No, it was like the lodge was void of such creatures. It was a safe haven for all sorts of _normal_ life. Normality was a coveted thing those days after Meteor.

He continued along the dirt path and was soon surrounded by green, summer foliage. He buried his hands in his pockets, feeling a slight chill with the setting sun. Suddenly, he wished that Rufus could have gone with him. Even if he wanted to, the doctors back in the lodge would have never allowed him to take even a step outside of his room. It was a good thing he had a pretty nice view from up in his room but that didn't mean much. Simply seeing it wasn't the same as actually being in the midst of it.

Some ways down, he noticed a pond. Probably caused by some weathering of the land, the ground had formed a small, natural basin to hold water. A little bird was sitting on the opposite side of the pond and looked up at him. Reno expected it to take off like any typical bird, but it remained, sipping peacefully at the pond, minding its own business. He smiled and sat down opposite it, bringing up his knees to his chest. Sure, if anyone came by, they would think him to be kind of odd but Reno really didn't care what anyone would think at the moment. Night was coming and he was bored as hell.

The pond was framed by small stones. At closer glance, they looked like they had been strategically placed, so he supposed it was possible that someone had put them there on purpose. Around it grew small, yellow flowers. They had bright petals, upturned toward the sky as to take in whatever light they could under the cover of the trees above them. Among them was one blue one; like the black sheep of the flock. It stood out with its almost shimmering blue color. It looked a little lonely sitting there all by itself.

Reno reached out to it and carefully plucked it from the ground, its roots easily unearthed, remaining intact. He grinned, proud that he had pulled it out so nicely. He twirled the stem between his fingers and marveled in the way that even the dimmest of light reflected off of its petals, giving it an almost glass-like quality. It was small, yet it held so much beauty. Indeed, he thought, it would be a suitable gift for his president.

He pushed himself up by the knees and regarded the tiny bird one last time before turning and leaving. It was getting darker by the second – not because it was getting later, but because clouds were beginning to gather in the sky. He lifted his eyes to the sky and a single, wet raindrop fell against his cheek. He flinched in surprise, though it was foolish. He should have expected it. The rain started to fall faster, another drop collided with his face and then another

Reno looked down at the flower he still held in his hand and then looked up to the road to see how far he had yet to go. It was quite a ways still. He frowned, twirling it in between his fingers again absently. Considerately, he opened his jacket and slipped the flower into a pocket on the inside, disregarding the dirt on it, happy to keep it close to his heart. He gave his pocket a light pat and, after taking a deep breath, set off down the road, running at full speed.

The rain was desperate to keep up with him though. It was almost as if it was chasing him, as it got faster and harder behind him. He didn't look back, but he could hear it and he could tell that it was catching up with him. The light of the sun was lost behind him and he didn't have much to light his way in front as he sprinted toward the lodge. Just when it was in sight, he lost his footing and fell forward, face first into the muddy path. He slid on his hands and knees, still only halfway there. He spat out some dirt and cleared his visage with the back of a hand.

So close, yet so far. The rain had been allowed to catch up and it poured down on him mercilessly, drenching him instantly. He pushed himself up, making sure that the flower in his pocket was safe and secure before he trudged on. He didn't bother running any longer. He didn't have to anymore. If he did, he would have probably fallen again and wound up back in the dirt.

His somber journey ended when he opened the door of the lodge, kicking it closed behind him. He toyed with his hair a little to shake some of the rain water from it. Some of the lodge's nurses turned to look at him, stopping in whatever they were doing to stare at his pitifully soaked appearance. He stuck out his tongue at them and they continued their work, trying to ignore him.

As he walked down the hall to Rufus' room, he left muddy footprints behind him. Some of the nurses yelled at him for it but it wasn't a bother to him. He couldn't help the insidious smile that spread across his lips because for once, he had come up with a gift for the one he loved the most. Often it was the other way around; Reno the one being pampered endlessly with expensive gifts. He never had a way of paying him back for his kindness but now that they seemed to be in an equal state of need, he didn't have to worry about the price tag on what he gave him.

He opened the door and quietly stepped inside. There, in the middle of the room, sat Rufus as usual, wasting time in his wheelchair. He had let down the sheet that shielded his sensitive skin from the sun, the bandages on his face visible now. He looked over his shoulder and regarded Reno with a silent nod and a smile.

"You look horrible," he said, breaking the silence of the room. "What happened?"

Laughing, Reno crossed the room and sat down at Rufus' feet. "I got stuck out in the rain."

"Went for a walk?"

"Something like that." He looked back up at Rufus, deeply taking in the gaze of his one visible eye and held it until he remembered what he'd brought him. "Close your eyes, 'kay? I brought you something."

Rufus did as he was told and closed his eyes with no questions asked.

"Hold out your hands," Reno commanded. When he did so, Reno dug around in his jacket and pulled out the flower he had been holding onto. He was glad that it had gone unharmed, each petal resting right in their places. Strangely, it still glistened with the same sparkling blue it had when he was outside by the pond even though the only light they had came from the little lamps in the far corners of the room.

It was a great gift indeed. It held a natural beauty; something they all could have come to appreciate. The sparkle of blue Reno held between his fingers was like a sparkle of hope.

Holding his hand beneath Rufus', he carefully placed the delicate flower down in his open palm and curled Rufus' fingers around its stem. "Okay," he said, looking back up into Rufus' face. "You can open your eyes now."

He wasn't sure how Rufus would react, but he hoped it would be favorable. He opened his eyes slowly and looked down at what Reno had placed in his hand – the small, perfectly blue flower. For a while, he just sat there in his wheelchair looking down at it, as though he were considering what to think. When he looked at Reno he almost laughed. The look of concentration Reno held as he awaited his reaction was humor incarnate. Rufus chuckled heartily and poked Reno between the eyes, making him wince.

"Thank you," he said kindly, holding up the flower to examine it thoughtfully. "It's beautiful."

"You really think so?"

Rufus nodded, breathing in its light, delightful scent. "I do."

Reno was thrilled that he was enjoying his gift. He rested back against the side of his wheelchair and closed his eyes, content enough at that point to fall asleep. From above him, Rufus reached down and ran his fingers through Reno's rain-soaked hair. "Reno?" he asked quietly, as to not disturb him. Reno only mumbled in response, so he continued. "You're really wet and this needs a vase. Go change before you catch a cold, okay? And grab a vase too, please?"

Well, he was satisfied; at least, that he did a good job. Fetching some warm clothes and grabbing a vase for the flower wouldn't be too hard on him. He kicked out his feet from underneath himself and placed his palms down flat on the ground to push him up. Brushing some invisible dirt off of his rain-spotted slacks, he turned back around to Rufus. Running his own fingers through his hair, he assessed him for a moment. Rufus looked up at him and raised an eyebrow in query.

Wordlessly, Reno leaned down and wrapped his arms Rufus, closing his eyes to simply, briefly enjoy his presence. "I love you," he murmured, brushing their cheeks together. Gently, he kissed his lips, unconcerned with Rufus' sickness.

"Reno," he muttered quickly, he, himself concerned still that Reno might catch whatever horrible thing he had contracted.

"I haven't caught it yet, you know, and I don't think I ever will. And even if I do, I don't care. If I do… Well, then we'll have it together, won't we?"

Rufus remained silent, a little flustered or embarrassed at first. Then he grinned broadly and brought up one, weak arm to pat him on the back. "Thank you, Reno," he said, leaning back, breaking their contact. "You've given me the best gift someone could have ever given me."

Reno left Rufus' room that night in better shape than he had when he left earlier that evening, his heart swelling with reassurance and happiness. He knew what he was living for again and that brought a smile to his face.

Author's Notes: That one was sort of fun to write. I don't know what people will think of it, but it felt like a complete success to me. It was made for "#15 perfect blue" on 30kisses on Livejournal. I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is appreciated as always.


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